There is a need for a blanket fabric that is lightweight, has a good hand and feel on both surfaces, provides good warmth, has enhanced tensile strength, and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Such a blanket is particularly useful for hospitality and institutional purposes such as hotels, cruise ships, hospitals and care giving institutions. One approach to resolution of the problem is the blanket fabric described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,075 issued Jan. 28, 1986 for a xe2x80x9cDouble Faced Knit Fabric and Method.xe2x80x9d This patent describes a knit blanket fabric of three bar construction which retains its stability both in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction, and is nappable on both surfaces without appreciably affecting the substrate. Although knitted, the characteristics of the fabric are said to be at least equal and even superior to those of quality woven blankets. More particularly, the patent describes a double faced knit fabric to be used particularly as a bedding blanket. The fabric is made of at least three bar construction and comprises a support substrate of warp-knit yams, a first facing of warp-knit, overfed looped and napped yams knit into the support substrate, and an opposite facing of warp-knit napped floats of yams. The yams of the opposite facing are warp-knit into the support substrate at the ends of the floats, and at least a portion of the fibers of the opposite facing are left intact and unbroken to provide lateral stability to the fabric. The fibers of the substrate are left substantially intact and unbroken to provide longitudinal stability to the fabric.
Commercial versions of blankets having the structure of the fabric described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,075 have been marketed by the owner of the patent, Fab Industries, Inc. However, there remains a need for a blanket structure that has all the features described above, better tensile strength, and which can be marketed at a competitive price. The blanket fabric of the present invention fulfills those criteria.
The present invention relates to a blanket fabric that is light in weight, has good hand and feel on both surfaces, provides good warmth, has good tensile strength, and can be manufactured for sale at a competitive price to the hospitality and institutional industries. The blanket fabric of the present invention comprises a weft knitted support substrate into which an overfed loop yam is weft knitted. A portion of the loops are pulled from the face side of the substrate to the opposite side and mechanically broken. Each side of the blanket is sheared to provide an even surface. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, only two yams are used and about forty to forty-five percent (40%-45%) of the loops are pulled from the face side of the fabric to the opposite side. The pulled loops are mechanically broken by brushing them, and in particular they are exceptionally loosened.